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James O'Brien

Hockey Daily Dose

Finding a home for Jarome

The trade deadline is a week away, so it’s likely that the Jarome Iginla saga will take a few turns from the time this Daily Dose posts and the moment he finds a new team (or stays with the only one he’s truly known). Even so, I feel like this is a great time to discuss the potential hypothetical destinations for Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla.

Why? Well, mainly because the subject is on my mind. Sorry, sometimes the Daily Dose can be a bit of a Daily Dictatorship.

For the sake of keeping this beast at a semi-reasonable length, I’m just going study how Iggy might fit into the mix for the teams who were rumored to be frontrunners for his services in this piece by Sportnet’s Mark Spector.

THE BRUINS

The anonymous word from QMI is that the Boston Bruins are currently in the pole position for Iginla. The two linked sources seem to disagree upon whether the Bruins are willing to part with 2012 first-round pick Malcolm Subban or not, but really, that’s a long-term team-building concern that likely affects no one (unless you’re in a really, really, REALLY deep keeper league).

Let’s assume, for a second, that the Bruins land Iginla for some mixture of picks, prospects and lower-level roster players. If that’s the case, where do you figure he’d fit in? It’s hard to immediately boot anyone from the team’s top two lines of late:

Perhaps one of those six guys would be packaged in a deal. Krejci seems like a perennial trade rumor target while Horton is likely to get a raise after this season’s $4 million cap hit dissolves.

But assuming that group isn’t broken up, what would you do? Shuffle Lucic/Horton in and out when one of those hot-and-cold power forwards aren’t up to snuff? Make Bergeron the best third-line center in the NHL?

Having at least seven top-six-quality forwards is better than having less than six, but I do wonder how that configuration would work. Despite this person’sfantastic Photoshop, I also think Iginla would look kinda weird in a Bruins uniform.

THE KINGS

Jarome Iginla as a Los Angeles King was an absolutely flawless idea … last season.

At first, the idea now seems a bit like overkill. The more I think about it, however, it could really be the fit that makes the Kings the best on-paper team in the West. (Sure, the Chicago Blackhawks have the high-end talent, but the Kings aren’t far behind in that department and would sport staggering depth).

For a while, I thought he might even supplant Justin Williams, but the underrated (yet sometimes fragile) winger has really picked up his game. After having a measly assist in six January games and a respectable seven points in 12 February contests, Williams has 13 points in 14 March appearances.

With Iginla, an already strong Kings team could throw out two scary lines (with right-handed shots galore!). Yup, the more I think about it, this seems like the ideal spot for him. He even knows the coach fairly well …

PENGUINS AND BLACKHAWKS

I’m lumping the two best teams in their respective conferences together for the simple reason that a) I don’t think they’re chasing him quite as seriously and b) I went a little longer than expected with the Bruins and Kings thoughts.

The Penguins present an interesting setup. Do you line him up with Sidney Crosby (the guy whom he set up for the 2010 gold medal goal) and Chris Kunitz or with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal? Do you even boldly pair him with Brenden Morrow to construct some kind of VOLTRON ROBOT OF GRIT AND LEADERSHIP? The most exciting part, for my dorkiness, is that the Penguins would finally have another right-handed shot in the top six.

The Blackhawks would be interesting as well, although it would require some compromise. Iginla would probably have to play on the left wing instead of his right wing spot because of Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. I’d be fine with that if I were him, but I’m not a future Hall of Famer, so we’ll see.

As you can see, Iginla’s situation brings about all kinds of fun hypothetical situations … which means the Flames will probably ruin it for everyone by pouting that they’re not receiving the package that they want and leave discussions (see: Richards, Brad and the Dallas Stars). Still, it’s fun to talk about, isn’t it?

Jump for more fun stuff.

The trade deadline is a week away, so it’s likely that the Jarome Iginla saga will take a few turns from the time this Daily Dose posts and the moment he finds a new team (or stays with the only one he’s truly known). Even so, I feel like this is a great time to discuss the potential hypothetical destinations for Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla.

Why? Well, mainly because the subject is on my mind. Sorry, sometimes the Daily Dose can be a bit of a Daily Dictatorship.

For the sake of keeping this beast at a semi-reasonable length, I’m just going study how Iggy might fit into the mix for the teams who were rumored to be frontrunners for his services in this piece by Sportnet’s Mark Spector.

THE BRUINS

The anonymous word from QMI is that the Boston Bruins are currently in the pole position for Iginla. The two linked sources seem to disagree upon whether the Bruins are willing to part with 2012 first-round pick Malcolm Subban or not, but really, that’s a long-term team-building concern that likely affects no one (unless you’re in a really, really, REALLY deep keeper league).

Let’s assume, for a second, that the Bruins land Iginla for some mixture of picks, prospects and lower-level roster players. If that’s the case, where do you figure he’d fit in? It’s hard to immediately boot anyone from the team’s top two lines of late:

Perhaps one of those six guys would be packaged in a deal. Krejci seems like a perennial trade rumor target while Horton is likely to get a raise after this season’s $4 million cap hit dissolves.

But assuming that group isn’t broken up, what would you do? Shuffle Lucic/Horton in and out when one of those hot-and-cold power forwards aren’t up to snuff? Make Bergeron the best third-line center in the NHL?

Having at least seven top-six-quality forwards is better than having less than six, but I do wonder how that configuration would work. Despite this person’sfantastic Photoshop, I also think Iginla would look kinda weird in a Bruins uniform.

THE KINGS

Jarome Iginla as a Los Angeles King was an absolutely flawless idea … last season.

At first, the idea now seems a bit like overkill. The more I think about it, however, it could really be the fit that makes the Kings the best on-paper team in the West. (Sure, the Chicago Blackhawks have the high-end talent, but the Kings aren’t far behind in that department and would sport staggering depth).

For a while, I thought he might even supplant Justin Williams, but the underrated (yet sometimes fragile) winger has really picked up his game. After having a measly assist in six January games and a respectable seven points in 12 February contests, Williams has 13 points in 14 March appearances.

With Iginla, an already strong Kings team could throw out two scary lines (with right-handed shots galore!). Yup, the more I think about it, this seems like the ideal spot for him. He even knows the coach fairly well …

PENGUINS AND BLACKHAWKS

I’m lumping the two best teams in their respective conferences together for the simple reason that a) I don’t think they’re chasing him quite as seriously and b) I went a little longer than expected with the Bruins and Kings thoughts.

The Penguins present an interesting setup. Do you line him up with Sidney Crosby (the guy whom he set up for the 2010 gold medal goal) and Chris Kunitz or with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal? Do you even boldly pair him with Brenden Morrow to construct some kind of VOLTRON ROBOT OF GRIT AND LEADERSHIP? The most exciting part, for my dorkiness, is that the Penguins would finally have another right-handed shot in the top six.

The Blackhawks would be interesting as well, although it would require some compromise. Iginla would probably have to play on the left wing instead of his right wing spot because of Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. I’d be fine with that if I were him, but I’m not a future Hall of Famer, so we’ll see.

As you can see, Iginla’s situation brings about all kinds of fun hypothetical situations … which means the Flames will probably ruin it for everyone by pouting that they’re not receiving the package that they want and leave discussions (see: Richards, Brad and the Dallas Stars). Still, it’s fun to talk about, isn’t it?

Jump for more fun stuff.

FLOWER UPROOTED

The uh oh moment of last night came on a play that looked like it was going to be innocuous enough: Brian Gionta lightly bumped Tyler Kennedy, who fell on Marc-Andre Fleury, causing the netminder to sprawl awkwardly. It was different from goalie-hunting moments like Milan Lucic’s hit on Ryan Miller and Alex Edler’s bit on Mike Smith because it lacked that bombast. Still, it appears Fleury has an injury of mysterious severity.

Enter Tomas Vokoun, who’s cleaned up his game a nice bit after a disappointing start to the season. I’d generally expect the Penguins to stick with Vokoun under most injury circumstances for Fleury - they are investing $2 million per year for two years in the guy - so the aging Czech is worth an impulse add. At worst, you get a guy who should get the goal support needed to rack up wins during most of his starts.

SMITHEREENS

From the “probably sounds worse than it really is” department: the Phoenix Coyotes placed workhorse goalie Mike Smith on the IR on Tuesday. That might make his mystery injury sound rather dire … and maybe it is.

But more than anything else, it’s a bit of housekeeping because his injury is retroactive to March 21. He can play again this weekend if things clear up, but if not, the Coyotes get a little extra flexibility.

It still doesn’t help your fantasy team and it certainly doesn’t stop Phoenix’s bleeding, but at least it’s not necessarily a reason to panic.

DON’T DO IT FOR THE KIPPER

Tuesday’s brow-furrowing story came out of hot stove central (Calgary) as Miikka Kiprusoff reportedly told Flames management that he wouldn’t show up for work for a new team if he was traded.

While that’s a pretty startling revelation, it’s not too shocking from Kipper’s perspective. His wife just gave birth and the best money days of his contract are behind him. While his deal carries a $5.8 million cap hit next season, his salary will be a relatively scant $1.5 million. That makes him sneaky-desirable for a salary cap floor-challenged team like, say, the New York Islanders* but might explain why Kipper isn’t as anxious to live out of a hotel room for the next couple months.

Thomas Vanek suffered another injury last night. Sheesh … Kris Letang returned to action for Pittsburgh, but reportedly didn’t feel 100 percent after the first period. Be careful there … Hope you weren’t gambling on big early returns for Brenden Morrow. He skated for less than 13 minutes and only had a single hit in his Pitt debut … It was another great night to be named “Kane.” Patrick assisted on both Blackhawks goals while Evander had four points … Another guy who had a four-point night was Derek Stepan. No idea how long he might last on the Rangers’ top line, but like Michael Frolik, he’s worth a gander if you’re needy at the depth forward position(s) … Clarke MacArthur is day-to-day with an upper-body injury … After a 43-save shutout against the Blues, Nikolai Khabibulin has a beautiful .941 save percentage and 1.93 GAA despite a 3-3-1 record. The theory that he jumps 2-3 levels in contract years isn’t dead yet … Speaking of the Blues, Ken Hitchcock had a yell session following that loss, but maybe he should yell at bad puck luck. Lou Korac points out that in three loses to NW teams Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, they've outshot their opponents a ridiculous 115-55 but suffered a 9-4 margin. You know, that Iginla guy would be an interesting fit in St. Louis, too … Jussi Jokinen was placed on waivers … Zack Kassian’s day-to-day with back issues.